Fooled me, once

I was about to blog about a series of ridiculous quotes Kerry made on the stump today, dulling any momentum he might have had from last night's debates. Then I learned the quotes were completely fabricated by Fox News. And once they were called on it, Fox took the story down from the site. Here they are, from talkingpointsmemo.com:, which has preserved the web page for posterity and evidence:

"It's about the Supreme Court. Women should like me! I do manicures."

About himself and the president: "I'm metrosexual — he's a cowboy."

Fox handily lets us know after this quote: A "metrosexual" is defined as an urbane male with a strong aesthetic sense who spends a great deal of time and money on his appearance and lifestyle.

What the hell? Josh Marshall on Talking Points has apparently called Fox News and is awaiting an explanation. Should be interesting to see. In the meantime, a news service that I used to follow (its partisanship firmly in mind) has revealed itself to be a ridiculous fraud. Maybe I should have known better in the first place.

UPDATE: Fox News has the following apology and retraction on their web site:

"Earlier Friday, FOXNews.com posted an item purporting to contain quotations from Kerry. The item was based on a reporter’s partial script that had been written in jest and should not have been posted or broadcast. We regret the error, which occurred because of fatigue and bad judgment, not malice."

They report, you decide.